Producers and writers have been waiting years for Ryosuke Yamada to get old enough to play the lead in popular detective series “金田一少年の事件簿 (Kindaichi Shonen Jinkenbo)”, which will air on TV this winter as a special drama, reports Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, and Sponichi Annex on July 24.

It has been reported Yamada is the fourth Johnny’s talent to play the lead role of high school detective Hajime Kindaichi, following in the footsteps of Tsuyoshi Domoto (KinKi Kids) who starred in the first special drama in 1995, then Jun Matsumoto (Arashi), and Kazuya Kamenashi (KAT-TUN). The series was also made into a movie in 1997.

The drama is based on the manga series of the same name, which has been running for 20 years.

The upcoming show will be based on the manga’s current story, “金田一少年の事件簿 香港九龍財宝殺人事件 (Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo – Hong Kong Kowloon Zaihou Satsujin-jiken, The Hong Kong Kowloon Treasure Murder Mystery)”, which started being published in weekly manga magazine Weekly Shonen Magazine on July 11 this year. It has been reported the manga’s co-creator Shin Kibayashi (also known under the alias Seimaru Amagi) will be writing the script for the drama.

The story will take place in Hong Kong, where Kindaichi accompanies his friend Miyuki who is getting ready for an international fashion show. One day, Miyuki is kidnapped. As he tries to get a grip on the situation, he meets Yang Lan, another model who looks identical to Miyuki. As the two try to find Miyuki, someone is murdered the night before the fashion show.

“I’m extremely happy to be able to play a character who many of my seniors have played in the past. I think this will be a huge production, with the story being set in Hong Kong, so I promise to work as hard as I can. I want to bring out a Kindaichi Hajime that only I can produce,” Yamada said.

Drama producer Hiroko Hazeyama had said at least half of the drama will be shot in Hong Kong, and will involve an international cast and crew. It has been reported a Kindaichi drama starring Yamada had been planned five years ago, but production was postponed because Yamada looked too young at the time.

“The manga’s writer had wanted him (Yamada) to play the part for years, and that’s how this project came along. He has that cheeky boy personality Kindaichi Shonen needs,” she said.

It has been reported the drama will be filmed in Hong Kong from mid-September, and take about two weeks. Yamada had started to train for the action sequences, as well as learning some Chinese.

**EXTRA**

If you’re interested in checking out the manga’s website of the same story, click here. I can’t say for sure the manga will be the same as the movie, but it’s better than nothing!